“Can you come and play with us?” It was these words that compelled Pamela Jones to move from researcher to educational practitioner in the late ’90s and early 2000s. From a summer internship in a preschool classroom in her college years to teaching opportunities in inclusive settings as a special educator years later, Pam has worked with children in the early childhood and childhood age-bands. Her former role as a learning specialist in public schools, and her love of critical literacies and languages, are what inform her work as a graduate instructor and advisor. Among other goals, Pam is committed to helping her students grow their awareness of the political nature of teaching, understanding that every pedagogical act carries with it a set of consequences. Pam delivers workshops and presentations on a range of topics, including (but not limited to): home-to-school partnerships, critical language awareness, and infusing social justice meaningfully into the curriculum. As a doctoral student exploring the intergenerational language and literacy practices in African-American families, Pam is re-engaging her researcher identity and finding points of intersection with her teacher and activist identities.
Educational Background
Qualifications
MSEd, Bank Street College, M.P.A., Columbia University
Publications
Jones, P. (2017). Under surveillance: Interrogating linguistic policing in Black girlhood. Bank Street Occasional Paper Series 38. Retrieved from: bankstreet.edu/occasional-paper-series/38.
Jones, P. (2017, November 14). Unmasking the linguistic policing of Black and Brown children in today’s schools: A call to action. [Blog Post]. Retrieved from https://steinhardt.nyu.edu/site/metroblog/2017/11/14/unmasking-the-linguistic-policing-of-black-and-brown-children-in-todays-schools-a-call-to -action/
Jones, P. (2017). From radical self-care to ethically subversive practice: The educators’ charge in the era of Trump. Berkeley Review of Education. Retrieved from http://www.berkeleyreviewofeducation.com/cfc2016-blog/from-radical-self-care-to-ethically-subversive-practice-the-educators-charge-in-the-era-of-trump
Burr, V. & Jones, P. (2012). Fair is not equal: A differentiated approach to supporting behavioral growth in the classroom. Retrieved from: http://bankstreet.edu/blogs/fair-is-not-equal/
Presentations
Jones, P. (March, 2018). Planning for social justice work in home institutions. Workshop at the College Conference on Composition and Communication (CCCC), Kansas City, MO.
Jones, P. (December, 2017). Code-meshing as culturally sustaining pedagogy: Using code-meshing to take advantage of students’ full linguistic repertoires. Presentation at the New York City Special Education Collaborative, New York, NY.
Jones, P. (November, 2017). Library salon #13: Occasional Paper Series 38. Panelist at Bank Street College Library Salon, New York, NY.
Jones, P. (January, 2017). Giving voice to multilingual students: Strengthening K-12 standards-based literacy practices. Speaker for Bank Street College’s TESOL Program Panel Discussion, New York, NY.
Jones, P. (November, 2016). Challenging the dominance of Standard American English: Using code-meshing pedagogy to take advantage of students’ full linguistic repertoires. Workshop at the 17th Annual Language Series, Bank Street College, New York, NY.
Jones, P. (October, 2016). Family stories and home visits: Adopting a social justice stance to family involvement. Workshop at the 42nd Annual Family Involvement Conference, Harrisburg, PA.
Jones, P. (November, 2015). They schools: Language, culture, & power in schools. Guest Tweeter/Presenter on #Flyychat. Retrieved from: https://storify.com/robynewmurphy/flyychat-they-schools-language-culture-and-power-i
Jones, P. (November, 2015). Honoring the literacies of Migrant families: A Funds of Knowledge approach to literacy instruction. Workshop delivered at the Migrant Education Program (MEP) & English as a Second Language (ESL) Conference, Harrisburg, PA.
Jones, P. (October, 2015). Teacher language attitudes and the overrepresentation of students of color in special education: Exploring the connections. Workshop at the 41st Annual Family Involvement Conference, Harrisburg, PA.
Jones, P. (October 2014). Families and educators: Partners in the referral process. Workshop at the 40th Annual Family Involvement Conference, Harrisburg, PA.
Jones, P. (September, 2011). Ensuring African American students get the education they deserve: Exploring differentiated instruction as one viable approach to combat one-size-fits-all education. Presentation at the Congressional Black Caucus’s Annual Legislative Conference, Washington, D.C.”
